Quickstep bus check 'routine'

QuickStep had their bus checked by police on the eve of the Tour de France in a move the Belgian team described as "routine".

The QuickStep squad, whose leading riders include Belgian Tom Boonen and Sylvain Chavanel of France, had their bus taken from the team hotel in Challans, western France to a local police station for inspection.
But QuickStep spokesman Alessandro Tegner tonight reported the situation was nothing out of the ordinary.
He told Press Association Sport: "The team bus now is outside the hotel.
"Nothing was found on the team bus. It was a normal routine check by the police."
The 98th Tour begins tomorrow with a 191-kilometre road stage from Passage du Gois to Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers.
QuickStep later released a statement, expressing their unhappiness with some of the coverage surrounding the incident.
"Today, Friday July 1, 2011, the Quick-Step Cycling Team's motorhome was seized by the Gendarmerie in La Roche-sur-Yon at the local police station in a routine check. Nothing was found during the search," it said.
"The team wants to specify that no other team vehicle underwent any searches.
"The team feels' deeply harmed by the consequent media focus on what happened today, which we feel has damaged the team's image and the image of cycling in general.
"The team asks also to the press to avoid speculation around the team and the team's riders that are focused on the race."